Life Post-Leo
by Devi Sastry
Summary: Long after the giants and Gaia are gone and Calypso and Leo have had their Happily Ever After, a day comes when they can't be together anymore. To deal with the grief of loss, she heads out int the night looking for a way to cope when she meets a mysterious stranger with a similar story...


**LIFE POST-LEO**

The feeling of a hand on my head woke me up.

I raised my head, squinting at the sudden change in lighting. For a moment, I thought that everything was alright.

Then I heard the noise of the heart rate monitor.

Reality came crashing down on me like the weight of the sky on Atlas's shoulders.

"I think-" he coughed. I just looked at him as he choked on his words. His hair had long since turned grey. His frame no longer supported his body. His breathing was slow. But still, as he saw me, his face lit up. His mischievous grin was back in place.

Because of me.

My eyes were filled with tears, but despite that, I gave him a sad smile.

"I think this is it," he said with a sense of finality.

"_Don't_," I breathed, tears blurring my vision, "Don't say that."

"The world just couldn't take the heat," he said, winking at me.

I should have laughed. Instead, my cheeks turned cold as my tears overflowed.

"I'm sorry, Calypso," he said, his eyes turning back to the ceiling and closing.

My eyes widened with fear. Then, the machine started beeping frantically.

"_NO!"_

I was pushed away as the doctors and nurses rushed into the room to try to save him.

It was too late.

The pain hit me fresh every day. Months spent waking and grieving.

That is my life now.

An apartment that is empty without his laugh. A city too big for me alone. A heart that is empty devoid of him.

That is my life now.

I should leave all the painful memories behind in this city. But I still can't let him go years later.

The pain isn't as bad anymore. The grief doesn't crush me anew each morning.

But it's still there.

And it hurts.

The songs I sing at quiet joints downtown are not anymore just for money, but in hopes that he can hear me in the middle of the fields of Asphodel. If that's where he went.

Tonight, however, I have no plans. Nothing to stop me from thinking about him. No distractions.

So I try to find one. I zip up my jacket and head out into the night. I traded in white Greek tunics for jeans and T-shirts long ago. I find a place that seems alright and walk in, sitting at the bar.

The bartender raises his eyes at me, but I glare at him and he says nothing.

"Young crowd today, huh?" the guy next to me says to the bartender. He has no idea just how old I am. I look over at him and he looks about 17. I raise my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He turns back to his glass and gulps the drink down.

"Another round?" the bartender suggests. The guy nods.

"I'll have what he's having," I tell him. The bartender shrugs and pours out our drinks.

I've never had one before.

I stare at the glass for a while. For all this time, I couldn't let Leo go. Now, all I want to do is forget. I drain the glass. The alcohol works its way into my blood, drowning out the pain. I feel energized. I fuels the growing fire within me.

"You look like you're drinking your problems away," the guy says. I look towards him.

"Is that what people do?"

"Have you been isolated from the human race?" He sounds amazed.

"You have no idea."

"Living under a rock?" He takes a sip from his glass.

"Deserted island, actually," I tell him. He looks impressed.

"Another drink for the mysterious lady in black." The bartender hands me another glass.

"Trust me; this is just the tip of the iceberg." I sip my drink.

"How so?" He is intrigued.

"The things I've seen would surprise you," I explain.

"I think I've pretty much seen it all. But I'll tell you what; let's make it a game."

"A game?" I ask, confused.

"A drinking game. Each time I say something that you don't believe, you take a shot."

"I'm assuming it goes both ways?"

He nods. "Loser starts the next round."

I lean towards him. "Game on."

The bartender gives us a round of tequila shots.

"I'll start," he says. "I once dated a vampire."

I am unimpressed. "I dated the son of a Greek god," I say, handing him a shot glass.

"Okay, I'll give you that one," he says, tipping the tiny glass backwards. "My turn again: my father is one of hell's own demons and my mother is a warlock."

"My father is a Titan."

"I think that goes to both of us."

We drink from the shot glasses and drain them as the game progresses. As more of the intoxicating drink spills over our lips, the secrets spill out of our mouths. Round after round of shots are drained until I can barely stand. I don't care. This is perhaps the only fun thing I've done since Leo's been gone. I am not about to end it so soon.

"Okay," he says, his speech slurred, "I am more than 800 years old."

"Oh please," I say.

"What? What's your age?"

I laugh as I tell him. His jaw drops. He takes three shot glasses, draining them one by one. I throw my head back in laughter.

"Fine, I have one: In my eight hundred or so years of life, I've had about 200 partners." He smirks at me.

"Well, in my eons of being here, I've actually had one."

He is dumbfounded.

"What the-? How? Come on, that's not true!"

"Seeing as I was trapped on a deserted island, I think that's fair!"

He is laughing now, in utter disbelief. "That is crazy. Okay, who's the special guy? Is he going to be joining us?"

I avert my gaze. "Uh, no." I clear my throat. "He uh, he passed away a few years ago."

"Oh." His joyous expression turns to regret. "I'm so sorry I asked."

"No, you didn't know." I look back at him. There's something I see in his face: understanding. He takes my hand.

"Trust me, I know how you feel," he says, releasing my palm. And I understand what he's saying.

"How do you go on?" I ask him. He taps his glass indicatively.

"There are good days. And, there are bad days. This-" he motions to the glass, "is for the bad days." I grab a shot glass and raise it in his direction.

"To the good days," I say.

"To the good days," he agrees.

"And," I say before he takes his glass away, "to Leo."

He looks forlornly at the glass.

"To Alec."

We drink.


End file.
